What Does Incertae Sedis Mean?
In biology, “incertae sedis” (Latin: of uncertain position (seat)) signifies a taxonomic group difficult to place in the larger taxonomic scheme. This may be because the group is newly discovered, taxonomically challenging, or a fossil animal only known from fragments. Thanks to molecular phylogeny, most animals can be taxonomically categorized quite easily as long as there is sufficient funding and a tissue sample. However, because there are millions of animal species, many have not yet been definitely classified using molecular techniques. Since molecular phylogeny became widely available in the 1970s, more animals have been classified as incertae sedis, because taxonomists are less willing to guess about a taxon’s place unless it is obvious. For instance, in the Colubridae family of snakes, there are more than a dozen genera listed as incertae sedis. In taxonomy, there is also a growing trend to put a basal (primitive) taxa in the clade that contains its ancestors, but refrain from
